Ochoa to start in goal for Mexico

Guillermo Ochoa has won the battle to start in goal for Mexico in their FIFA World Cup opener against Cameroon on Friday.

The 28-year-old goalkeeper, who will leave relegated French club Ajaccio when his contract expires, edged Jesus Corona and Alfredo Talavera for the spot.

Miguel Herrera’s decision to name Ochoa was the highlight of his team, announced by the Mexican Football Association on Twitter on Thursday.

Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez was also left out and will begin on the bench as Herrera looks set to play a 5-3-2 formation.

Strike pairing Giovani dos Santos and Oribe Peralta were preferred by Herrera for the Group A clash.

Ochoa has started just twice for Mexico since October last year, with Herrera constantly changing his goalkeepers in recent times.

The last time a goalkeeper started two matches in a row for Mexico was in their two-legged World Cup play-off against New Zealand in November.

In the seven games since, Herrera has swapped and changed before finally settling on Ochoa.

Hernandez was given a chance to impress but missed a host of chances in a 1-0 friendly defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina earlier this month.

The forward has not scored for Mexico in more than 11 months and Herrera returned to the pairing of Dos Santos and Peralta in last week’s friendly loss to Portugal.

Full Mexico team:

Goalkeeper: Guillermo Ochoa

Defenders: Paul Aguilar, Francisco Rodriguez, Hector Moreno, Rafael Marquez, Miguel Layun

Midfielders: Jose Juan Vazquez, Andres Guardado, Hector Perrera

Forwards: Giovani dos Santos, Oribe Peralta